It's a nuisance that makes your kids scratch their scalps. We're talking about lice, a common problem for children heading back to school.

The blood-sucking insects are always on the crawl for new heads to take over. Here are some common mistakes parents make in detecting the critters and how to keep your kid's head clean.

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Leah Doubleday is going to be a fifth-grader this year. She's excited about being the top dog on campus and meeting new friends, but one thing she said she's not looking forward to is lice.

"When my mom told me she found something in my hair I stopped and was like, 'What do you mean?'" she said.

Last year her mother found one of those creepy crawlers and freaked. They were sneaky, she scoured her scalp at least seven times and even had the school nurse and teacher comb through her hair, but still no sign of the bug.

"We would check the hair check it again and again I saw nothing. I knew what I was looking for I looked it up on the Internet saw what the bugs looked like but couldn't find anything," said Katie Doubleday.

Days later, they were in for a shock.

"We were sitting at breakfast and I looked over at her for something and I saw it crawl on the side of her head," Katie said.

So she called the professionals, Christina Womack of Nit Picking in NOLA.

Womack said lice are commonly found in children between the ages of 6-12 because kids don't quite understand personal space.

"If you ever watch elementary school kids playing, their heads are together, hair down a lot of head-to-head contact and that's how it travels," she said.

So she recommends girls keep hair in a bun, braid or ponytail to protect themselves from getting lice. And don't share things like combs, brushes, scrunchies, helmets or hats.

The biggest misconception about lice is that they likes certain types of hair and textures.

"Everyone gets it. I've heard so many times that blonds can't get it or redheads, and African Americans. Everyone can get lice, it doesn't matter what color you are or what type of hair you have," Womack said.

So what to do if you do get the itchy pest? Womack said parents should comb through the child's hair with a metal comb specifically for lice for at least 10 consecutive days, and do it while the hair is wet.

"Studies have proven that wet-head checks are the best, the bugs stop moving when the hair is wet," she said.

Lice do not carry disease and will not go away on their own, they just cause itching and irritation. For more information on lice and the best ways to combat them, visit the links below.